Holiday Art at the Gallery

The holiday season is approaching at the Gibson Gallery is getting into the spirit.

The gallery’s “Holiday Art at the Gallery” opened Nov. 22 and runs through Dec. 9. The event acts as a mini-Art by the River with vendors and exhibitors coming in and offering their goods for people to buy.

“We have even more exhibitors this year,” explained Bonnie Deslippe, a board member with the Gibson Gallery.

Muriel King and Linda Jones were shopping at Holiday Art at the Gallery Nov. 23 at the Gibson Gallery.

Deslippe said there will be a nice variety of goods available at “Holiday Art at the Gallery” and pointed out there is no admission. She added that the Wednesday Guild will also be holding a raffle for some large afghans in conjunction with Holiday Art at the Gallery.

Holiday Art at the Gallery is the final event of the 2018 season at the Gibson Gallery. It was preceded by the Members Exhibit in which members of the Gibson Gallery got a chance to display their own work.

“It was a good exhibit,” said Deslippe. “There was a nice assortment. It’s always very eclectic.”

About 21 exhibitors took part, with paintings and sculptures among the work shown. Members are contacted and invited to participate and Deslippe said they then wait to see what comes in.

Deslippe said there was no real theme to the members’ exhibit, but “it’s always very interesting.”

The Gibson Gallery is located at 140 Richmond St. and is open Thursday-Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Donations are welcome.

The Gibson Gallery is ready for the Christmas holidays and wants to help the community get ready as well.

The gallery is hosting its annual “Holiday Art at the Gallery” and it runs through Dec. 11.

“It’s basically a smaller version of Art by the River,” explained Bonnie Deslippe, publicity director at the gallery. “We have it every year as a fundraiser for the gallery.”

Bev Williams, a volunteer at the Gibson Gallery, looks at some of the items available at “Holiday Art at the Gallery.” The sale runs Thursday-Sunday through Dec. 11 at the gallery.

Deslippe explained they used to rent space to vendors but changed formats about five years ago to where vendors can now drop off items with a percentage going to both the gallery and the vendor if there are any sales. She added it allows more people to participate and also frees up space for people to shop.

“It freed up the vendors to go to other events,” said Deslippe.

Among the items available at this year’s Holiday Art at the Gallery are jewellery, woodworking, stuffed animals, books, Christmas decorations, knitting and crocheting and other forms of artwork. There was a bake sale last weekend with a raffle also available for those in attendance.

Pictured is just a sample of what is available at Holiday Art at the Gallery. The last show of the 2016 season for the Gibson Gallery runs through Dec. 11.

Acknowledging “it’s not on the scale of Art by the River,” Deslippe said it is a smaller version which allows the Gibson Gallery to raise funds to support itself. It is the final show on the gallery’s 2016 calendar before closing for the winter.

“It’s a way you can support local artists and crafters and get some really great gifts,” said Deslippe.

Deslippe estimated there are over 40 vendors that are participating in this year’s Holiday Art at the Gallery.

“We always get a lot of positive feedback,” she said.

The Gibson Gallery’s current hours are Thursday-Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Their phone number is 519-736-2826, the website is www.gibsonartgallery.com and they are on Facebook and Twitter as well.